Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 205 - RULES OF FIREFIGHTER STANDARDS AND TRAINING COUNCIL, GEORGIA
Chapter 205-1 - ORGANIZATION
Subject 205-1-3 - MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR FIREFIGHTERS OPERATING IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA
Rule 205-1-3-.01 - Definitions

(1) "Authority Having Jurisdiction" or "AHJ" means an organization, office, or individual responsible for enforcing the requirements of a code or standard, or for approving equipment, materials, an installation, or a procedure.

(2) "Candidate" means a prospective firefighter who has not yet been certified by the Council as having met the requirements of this chapter.

(3) "Certified" means any individual requiring state certification who has been certified as having met the requirements established by the Council.

(4) "Certified Firefighter" or "State Certified Firefighter" means any firefighter who has been certified by the Council as having met the requirements of this chapter.

(5) "Compensation" means paid on an hourly or salaried basis.

(6) "Continued Annual Training" means the professional development training needed to meet minimum requirements to maintain certification(s)/qualification each calendar year as approved by the Fire Chief.

(7) "Continued Certification" means having met the minimum professional development training required each calendar year for those individuals who are certified by the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council to maintain their certification(s).

(8) "Designee" means the representative designated by the Fire Chief to deal with matters of the Council.

(9) "Explorer Program" means a program for older youth 14-20 years old that offers hands-on and interactive character and career activities facilitated by fire service personnel from the local community.

(10) "Fire and Life Safety Educator" means a person who is trained to deliver fire and life safety training programs to the general public.

(11) "Fire Department Training Officer" means the person responsible for administrative work in planning, organizing, coordinating, and directing training activities of the Fire Department.

(12) "Firefighter" means any able-bodied person at least 18 years of age who has been duly appointed by a legally constituted fire department and who has the responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires, protecting life and property, and performing other duties enumerated in O.C.G.A. § 25-3-1 and § 25-3-2.

(13) "Fire Inspector" means a person who is trained to perform fire and life safety inspections of all types of new construction and existing occupancies.

(14) "Fire Investigator" means a person who is trained to investigate and determine fire cause and origin.

(15) "Fire Service Instructor" means the person responsible for delivering instruction effectively from prepared materials at the direction, and often under the supervision, of the Fire Department Training Officer.

(16) "Full-time" or "Career" means employed for compensation on a basis of at least 40 hours per week by any municipal, county, state, or private incorporated fire department.

(17) "Georgia Fire Academy" or "GFA" means a division of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center that is responsible for training fire service personnel.

(18) "Good Standing" means a person has complied with all of their explicit obligations while not being subject to any form of sanction, suspension, or disciplinary censure.

(19) "Inmate Firefighter" means an individual currently serving a sentence as a Georgia Department of Corrections inmate and currently enrolled, or who has successfully completed, the Georgia Department of Corrections Inmate Firefighter training program, and is recognized by the Georgia Department of Corrections as such.

(20) "Live Fire Training" means a structure fire control class conducted by the Georgia Fire Academy or a structure fire control class conducted at another location where at least one qualified instructor has completed a live fire instructor course conducted in accordance with the current edition of NFPA 1403.

(21) "Part-time" means employed for compensation for an average of less than 30 hours per week by any municipal, county, state, or private incorporated fire department.

(22) "Pathway Program" means a firefighter training program conducted in a Georgia high school and sponsored by a compliant Georgia fire department as approved by the Council.

(23) "Professional Development" means training that meets a national or state standard, or addresses a specific area of local service delivery (this does not include daily duties such as maintenance, territory study, equipment checks, etc., unless it is for a recruit or probationary personnel) and performed in a classroom, at a conference, a drill field setting, etc. with instruction by an individual deemed to be qualified by the fire chief/designee.

(24) "Qualified" means that the recruit has completed required training and testing and that the fire department has submitted necessary paperwork to GFSTC verifying that the recruit has met the necessary requirements as approved by the Council.

(25) "Recertification" means restoring the certification(s) to those individuals who have lost their certification(s).

(26) "Recruit" means a prospective firefighter or student in technical college, private school, high school, enrolled in an approved Pathway Program or Explorer Program who has not yet been certified or qualified by the Council as having met the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 25-4 and these Rules & Regulations.

(27) "Registered" means that the department has added the individual to their roster on the

GFSTC database.

(28) "Volunteer Support Firefighter" means a firefighter who has been registered with the GFSTC, trained to the level of Volunteer Support Firefighter and passed the Volunteer Support Firefighter test and Hazardous Materials Awareness written and skills tests as specified by the Council. Volunteer Support Firefighters are not trained or qualified to perform duties in the Hot Zone.

(29) "Volunteer Suppression Firefighter" means a firefighter who has been registered with the GFSTC, trained to the level of Volunteer Suppression Firefighter and passed the Volunteer Suppression Firefighter tests, to include live structure fire training, and Hazardous Materials Awareness written and skills tests as specified by the Council.

(30) "Trained to the Level of" means that the candidate has met all of the requirements of a course, and has tested through GFSTC.